Thane woman dies by suicide after learning her bank account was linked to cyber fraud cases

A 38yearold woman died by suicide at her residence in Maharashtras Thane district after she allegedly became distressed on learning that her bank account had been linked to multiple cyber fraud cases registered in several states police said on ThursdayThe deceased was identified as Devika Armugam Pandaram a resident of Sairam Society in Dombivli EastAccording to police Pandaram became increasingly anxious after authorities informed her that her Bank of Maharashtra account had allegedly been used in connection with online fraud cases reported in different parts of the countryPolice have registered a case of accidental death and launched an investigation into the matterRajasthan cyber police visited her residenceOfficials from the Churu Cyber Cell police station in Rajasthan visited Pandarams residence on August 8 police saidThe officials served her with a notice asking her to appear for questioning in connection with a case registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology ActPolice said the notice stated that her Bank of Maharashtra account had allegedly been used in an online fraud caseFollowing the visit Pandaram approached the Cyber Crime Department at the Thane Police Commissionerate to seek clarification regarding the matterPolice said cases were registered in several statesOfficials at the Thane Police Commissionerate informed Pandaram that multiple cyber fraud cases had allegedly been registered against her across several states police saidThe cases were reported from Haryana Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh Bihar Gujarat and Tamil Nadu according to the policeIt was not immediately clear how her bank account came to be allegedly linked to the fraud cases or whether she was suspected of directly participating in the offencesThe investigation is expected to examine the circumstances in which the account was allegedly used and the nature of the transactions that led to the cases being registeredWoman reportedly feared having to travel for questioningPolice said Pandaram became distressed over the possibility of having to travel to different states for questioning in connection with the casesAccording to relatives she was overwhelmed by anxiety about the prospect of appearing before police authorities in multiple statesAt around 4 pm on Tuesday Pandaram used a sharp blade to inflict injuries on herself police said quoting her relativesHer family members immediately rushed her to a nearby private hospitalWoman declared dead at municipal hospitalPandaram was subsequently referred to the municipalrun Shastri Nagar Hospital for further treatmentDoctors at the hospital declared her brought dead police saidThe incident has drawn attention to the stress and anxiety that can arise when individuals discover that their financial accounts may have been used or linked to alleged cybercrime activitiesHowever police have not yet provided details on whether Pandarams account was misused without her knowledge or whether investigators had identified any other individuals connected with the alleged fraud casesPolice begin investigationPolice have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating the circumstances surrounding Pandarams deathThe inquiry is also likely to examine the information received by Pandaram regarding the cyber fraud cases and the circumstances in which her bank account was allegedly usedFurther details are expected as investigators continue their probe into the caseWith inputs from PTI